Ratings going into Mania...
 

Last week's Raw drew hours of 3 and 3, for about 5 million viewers apiece. This is the first year in the time I've been following NMR's ratings for Raw that they've seen a decrease instead of an increase going into Wrestlemania. Think this says something new about WWE, or is a portent for some level of disappointment at Wrestlemania? PPV buyrates don't always correlate with the ratings of Raw and Smackdown, and this is the granddaddy of them all, but this is certainly an interesting trend.

See, the problem here is that you're using the Dirt sheet numbers. NMR's numbers are constantly lower than those numbers, demonstrating the likelihood of, you know, bullshit. But anyway, if you were to use those numbers, the bullshit numbers, I'm pretty sure the numbers are still down from the claimed numbers prior.

NMR will put up Monday Night's ratings next Tuesday or Wednesday, and I can all but guarantee that they will be lower by a significant degree.

RAW was actually good this week, but you are probably right, KK. Ratings will be lower. I can suggest several things that are hurting the WWE heading into WrestleMania:

* As much as I dislike Hulk Hogan, he is right. What match is meant to be drawing at WrestleMania? What is their main event? Randy Orton vs. Triple H vs. John Cena? None of those men draw, and the combination is certainly less than thrilling. People booed the concept of another WrestleMania Triple Threat Match for a title. It might be more interesting if it was being contested under elimination rules.

* Jeff Hardy getting suspended probably won't help. A lot of fans have really connected with him, and now he's gone, and I'm sure his heat will also do a, well, Jeff Hardy, and just no-show. A lot of people will feel hurt and betrayed by this, so numbers probably won't climb.

* Edge is the only guy in one of the title matches that I believe has drawn at some point. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think The Undertaker is one of the lowest drawing World Champions of all-time? When your challengers are three babyfaces that only extreme marks care about, you're not going to attract many outside viewers.

* Isn't this the same WrestleMania as last year? There doesn't seem to be much growth for the company as a whole with this edition of WrestleMania. John Cena is still in the main event, and The Undertaker is challenging again. Vince McMahon is still an evil bastard that hasn't got his comeuppance. Melina is again in a Lumberjill Match. Small, trivial points, but I don't know if the average fan sees enough "new" on the card to truly believe that they are witnessing a special event unfold.

I'm gonna predict this weeks Raw's true ratings will be about 2.4, 3.5, 3.6.

Anyway, Sharky X, if you go by the 'dirt sheet' ratings as KK calls it, this is still the lowest-rated build to Mania so far since 1998 as I've mentioned before. The problem is that the Jan 14 08, Jan 21 08, Feb 4 08, Feb 11 08, Feb 25 08, March 3 08, and March 10 08 shows were all 3.6 or less. There is no real 'build' - it's just flat. And I'd say this weeks 2-hour rating being about 4 is just due to it being a special 3hr Raw. All 3 special Raws in recent time have been rated miles higher than the weeks around it.

I can't help but smile at the possibility of the WWE spending so much money on WrestleMania, and landing flat-on their face.

Also, the ratings spiked during some segments for RAW this week, meaning WWE can't hold onto viewers once they tune in. The 10 o clock quarter was high, then trailed off.

What was at the beginning of the 10 o'clock quarter, and what caused viewers to tune out?

The Show/Mayweather angle, after that segment people tuned out.

I must say, if I were a potential viewer, and I was watching the Hornswoggle stuff, I would not watch again. Especially with the whole molestation undertones of JBL and Hornswoggle in the hospital.

Stuff like that can genuinely turn audiences off.

Doesn't surprise me. Mayweather does well on PPV, and I think Big Show might be the only guy in the WWE who actually draws.

I doubt they'll fall flat on their faces, but then, also, I would smile if they did worse than last year. Also, I want to see how Vince justifies Mayweather to the shareholders if there isn't a significant enough increase to justify his price tag. Wrestlemania and the Rumble are the last big cash cows, and if they don't pay out, I imagine this will have an effect on stock prices (Though I doubt a HUGE effect) and confidence in WWE's performance.

It also might wake Vince the fuck up, and while I say that a lot, and it never happens, it'd be awesome if they did.

I actually really enjoyed the Rumble this year... first time I've felt anything other than indifference after a PPV since, well, last years WrestleMania. Didn't mind Cena winning simply because the surprise factor made up for it, and the show on the whole wasn't at all bad in my opinion. Then No Way Out delivered more than expected too.

That's 2 entertaining PPVS out of 2 so far this year, in my book. Could bode well for Mania, but the line up is less than inspiring on paper. Then again, WM22 looked pure shite on paper, and was much better than anticipated.

Mania is always entertaining, just cause it's Mania. Backlash we'll see the entertainment go bye bye

Hated Cena cashing in the title match at NWO too, and especially when he still ended up in the Mania main event anyway. My one hope is that all three of these guys have had great matches with each other (HHH vs Orton Rumble 04, Cena vs Orton SummerSlam 07, HHH vs Cena WM22) so maybe they can pull a great wrestling match out of their hats, but it's nothing new, and not a draw to me. I'll buy the show because it's WrestleMania but I'm not looking forward to that match particularly, which is just wrong when it's your flagship brand's main event.

As for Backlash, going by past form, they might as well just change the name of that PPV to 'WrestleMania 2: Electric Boogaloo' or some shit because last year was almost a carbon copy of the main WM matches rehashed with slight twists.

But if that's their philosophy, why would anyone pay for the much less spectacular Backlash PPV just a few weeks after the far superior WrestleMania to see more of exactly the same on a much smaller scale? I'm not saying you're wrong, just that WWE needs to rethink it, especially after charging so much for Mania.

If anything, Backlash should really feature a wholly fresh card to signify the arrival of the new "WWE calender year". After all, WrestleMania is supposed to be the culmination of all the major stories and feuds that have built throughout the prior months. The slate should, for the most part, be wiped clean following Mania (save maybe one or two angles that still have legs, but even they should take a new slant too). It's atypical lazy booking.

I think that WrestleMania's card needs to be tightened. The main event is a Triple Threat where one man doesn't need to be involved in the decision. Now, I can understand the usefulness for matches like that, but not at WrestleMania. It should be the culmination of the story. The Triple Threat Match should be under elimination rules. That way whoever is WWE Champion at the end of the night truly looks better.

Edge vs. The Undertaker should also be No Holds Barred, or something. The feud can be traced back to Edge having a hand in The Undertaker being forced onto the shelf, and has spilled into Hell in a Cell, Triple Threat Matches (where there are no rules), and has become quite personal and seen a few casualties.

My main reasoning for this, though, is that Edge can lose by countout or disqualification to give Taker the 16-0 win, and keep his title. If this is meant to be Title vs. Streak, then they really should play up some kind of stipulation which says that if Taker's streak stays alive, then he's World Heavyweight Champion. It also means that Edge would have to suffer his first pinfall or submission loss at a WrestleMania event. It seems to favor Taker, but then you have the possibility of Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins being influencing factors.

An elimination 3 way would be great, especially if Orton gets eliminated first. Fans would get excited knowing a new champ would come no matter what...then they'd realize that it'd either be HHH or Cena.

Do you mean HHH vs Orton at Rumble 05? Really? I thought that match was modest at best. It started out pretty good and Orton's concussion selling was fantastic, but the match really went downhill mid-way. That doesn't mean Orton and Trips haven't had a good match together. My choice for them would be the Last Man Standing at No Mercy. Summerslam 07 for Cena/Orton and WrestleMania 22 for HHH/Cena, I agree.

Yes I meant that one. It had great psychology and told a good story, more so than being technically a great match, but it was memorable. Now that you mention it, the Last Man Standing match last year was better, though.

That's exactly it. The WWE obviously wants to do John Cena vs. Triple H II, and while I'm sure their current plan is to have John Cena force Randy Orton to submit, and then have Triple H step forward as a one-on-one challenger, they might as well make it an elimination match, and have it come down to John Cena vs. Triple H.

The other option is to have Randy Orton eliminate Triple H, and actually look credible and as a worthwhile WWE Champion before he loses to Cena. I don't think it's necessary, though.

I don't know, Randy Orton might be pretty keen on it. :p

I personally want Triple H to become champion again. Johnny, ITS BURYING TIME!!

Yes and no. I'd personally go with the John Cena/Triple H ending (which is a moot point, seeing as the WWE are cats and won't make it elimination), but I can see reason for having the WWE Champion outlast Triple H.

Yeah, Triple H has been chasing, but the build has been crappy, for the most part. Randy Orton's story is that he's the WWE Champion, and meant to be the best guy on RAW. Shouldn't that mean a lot, too? Triple H can look good and still go first.

I do see the value in John Cena vs. Triple H being the hypoethetical final fall, though.

I think there's only two outcomes I'd like for the Triple Threat: HHH winning or Cena winning and turning heel ala Austin in '01. Reason being for the former, it's been three years since we've had an HHH title run (No Mercy doesn't count) and Cena well, he's been champ for three years BUT a heel turn would be different and definitely make things interesting. The worst outcomes would be Orton retaining or Cena winning and picking up where he left off.

Yes, Triple H's No Mercy win does count. As we are reminded every time Triple H makes his entrance. Honestly, I never want to see Triple H with a World Championship ever again.

What really annoys me about Triple H's World Championships, is the way the WWE advertises them. When the World Heavyweight Title was on RAW, he was a 10-time World Heavyweight Champion. No, he wasn't. He was a five-time World Heavyweight Champion. Now that the WWE Championship is on RAW, he's apparently an 11-time that. No, he's not. He's a six-time WWE Champion.

If Triple H wins another WWE Championship, that would tie him with The Rock as having the most WWE Championship runs ever. That could be a big thing if the WWE didn't skip over it. Triple H has also won more World Championships in a WWE ring than any man in history. That is where the number 11 is correct. The WWE could really put him over as the greatest in the WWE ever, but instead it seems he's trying to pale in comparison to Ric Flair, who has only won two World Titles in the WWE.

John Cena winning the WWE Championship and turning heel would be great, but unfortunately, it won't happen.

The whole main event for Raw is screwy. There are problems with anyone winning. Orton: probably shouldn't have the heel winning... Triple H: many don't want him with so many title reigns. Cena: Cena spoils the results till the next major pay per view.

Who knows, Jericho might win MITB so he could use that to challenge HHH. Although it would probably be better to have MVP win it.

Considering Jericho's a perpetual midcarder (Note to the fans who are barking at this like I just said Jericho is worthless; I didn't), it might be better to put it on someone that might go somewhere.

Yeah, it's highly unlikely there will ever be a Jericho top title run that is anything but transitional.

As much as he brings to the table, his top line potential is exhausted. People (and Jericho) have to make do with the top end of the midcard and enjoy him for what he is.

The MITB was Jeff's match. Now, it's wide open... I could see Shelton with the upset, but more likely is a second Kennedy win. Certainly the least star studded MITB to date.

I hate to say this, but I don't want Shelton to take it. I love him, but every time he gets even a marginal push, he seems to cave.

MVP, I don't personally see it, but he's fairly well liked, and seems to be fairly over in his role so it might make sense.